Electricity

We Love Science
Lesson 12
 Introduction
Electricity is all around us. Whether it’s our bedroom lamp, our
favorite gaming system, or the fridge that holds all of our
favorite snacks, electricity powers them all.
Introduction…
These days it even powers many of our cars. You could
travel to the most uninhabited areas of the earth and still
find it in the clouds above you during a storm.

Electricity takes different forms: coal, water, solar, wind,

nuclear, hydro and solar.

But have you ever wondered what exactly electricity is

made of or how it manages to get to your house?
What is electricity and how is it made?
Electricity is a secondary energy source that we get from the conversion of other sources of energy
such as coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear power, and so on. These sources are known as “primary
sources.”

Primary sources can be renewable or non-renewable, but the electricity itself is neither.

Like everything else, electricity is made up of atoms. So to understand electricity, it helps to

understand basic information about atoms.

Atoms
At the center of an atom is the nucleus. The
nucleus is made up of particles called protons and
neutrons. Electrons revolve around the nucleus in
shells.
Electrons
The protons and electrons of an atom are
attracted to each other, and each carries an
electrical charge.
Protons have a positive charge and electrons
have a negative charge.
 How does electricity work?
Electricity travels in closed circuits. It has to have a complete path before electrons can move through
it. When you turn on a light by flipping a switch, you close a circuit. Of course, this means that by
flipping a switch off, you open a circuit. Electricity flows from the electric wire, through the light, and
back into the wire.

The same concept applies to your television or your appliances– when you turn them on, you close a
circuit for electricity to flow through the wires and power them.
 Sources of electrical energy
Coals
Coal is milled into a fine powder and is
blown into a combustion chamber of a
boiler and burned at a high temperature.
The electricity generated is transported at
higher voltages via power line grids.
By the time it reaches our homes, the
electricity is transformed down to safer 100
to 250 voltage systems.
Wind Nuclear
Wind energy is renewable and harnesses Nuclear energy comes from the energy in
the energy generated by wind using wind the core of an atom. Power plants use a
turbines that convert it into electricity. process called “nuclear fission”– the
splitting of an atom– to create energy.
Wind turbines work the opposite way that
fans do– instead of using electricity to
create wind, wind turbines use wind to
make electricity. The wind turns the blades
which spin a shaft that is connected to a
generator and produces electricity.
How does electricity get to your home?
Where electricity comes from and where consumers get their energy varies. Some utility companies
generate all the energy they sell only using the power plants they own.

Others may purchase electricity directly from other utility companies, power marketers, and
independent power producers from a wholesale market organized by a regional transmission
reliability organization.

All the little details aside, electricity reaches the consumer in very similar ways.
 The electricity delivery process
The electricity that power plants generate is delivered to consumers over transmission and distribution
power lines.

This complex system sometimes called the “grid” includes substations, transformers, and power lines
that connect electricity producers and consumers. In the Vietnam, the electricity grid contains
thousands of miles of high-voltage power lines and millions of low-voltage power lines with
transformers that connect thousands of power plants to millions of consumers across the country.

High voltage power lines that are hung between large metal towers are able to carry electricity over
long distances, whereas lower voltage electricity is transmitted through transformers which increase
or decrease voltages to adjust to different stages of the journey from the power plant to your home or
business.
Other source of electricity at home
Solar Panel Mini Hydro
Circuit Arrangement
 Let me just illustrate 1 important segment of electricity
which most students cannot catch - concept on parallel and
series arrangement.

Take the head of the girl and boy as light bulbs.

Take the battery = power supply = chef which supplies 1
plate of sushi each time. The wires will just act as the
conveyor belt.
 So for the situation below, the loving boyfriend and
girlfriend will sit beside each other and share the plate of
sushi, so each person gets ½ the sushi:
When a boyfriend quarrels with the girlfriend, what
happens now? They seat on separate seats, like the
situation below:
Do you think they would want to share their sushi now?

NO! of course not! So they would get one sushi each. The
different colour shows different pathway.
 Test it out on an actual question now!
Arrange the brightest bulb to the dimmest bulb.

D, B, A, C
 Brightness of a bulb
1. Increasing The Number Of Batteries In Series

We can adjust the brightness of a bulb in a circuit by increasing or decreasing the

number of batteries used. To make the bulb light up more brightly, we place more
batteries in the electrical circuit. The batteries should be arranged in a series, meaning
the positive terminal of one battery touches the negative terminal
of another battery.

This will increase the amount of electric current flowing through the circuit.
 Brightness of a bulb
1. Increasing The Number Of Batteries In Series

Alternatively, to make the bulb light up less brightly, we place fewer batteries in the
electrical circuit. The electric current flowing through the circuit decreases, so the bulb
does not light up as brightly as before.

However, the bulb will blow when we keep increasing the number of batteries in a
circuit. This happens because there is too much electrical current flowing through the
circuit. The voltage of the bulb cannot handle the increase in electrical current and the
bulb fuse
 Brightness of a bulb
2. Increasing The Number Of Bulbs In Series

For bulbs arranged in series in a circuit with a fixed number of batteries, the greater the
number of bulbs, the dimmer each of the bulbs will be as the electric current has to be
shared between all the bulbs. If one bulb fuses, there will be a gap in the circuit and all
the other bulbs will not light up.
Real Life Vs Diagram Electricity
Real Life Vs Diagram Electricity
 Conductors And Insulators
A material that allows electricity to pass through it is a conductor of electricity. Metals
such as steel and iron are good conductors of electricity.

Carbon and water are non-metals which can conduct electricity. A material that does
not allow electricity to pass through it is a non-conductor or insulator of electricity.

In general, non-metals are insulators of electricity. Rubber, plastic and wood are
insulators of electricity. Most materials that can conduct electricity can also conduct
heat.
 Using Electricity Safely
Electricity is useful to us in many ways. However, electricity can also be dangerous. It can give us
electric shocks or even start fires. To prevent such events from happening, we must observe certain
safety precautions when handling electrical appliances

• Do not touch electrical switches with wet hands. Since water is a conductor of electricity, the
electricity will pass through your body and give you an electric shock. The presence of small
amounts of salt in water is what makes it a conductor of electricity. Hence, seawater (because of
its salinity) is a very good conductor of electricity. Pure water, on the other hand, is not a
conductor of electricity. Unless you know for certain that the water you are using is extremely
pure, you should always assume that water is conductive and therefore, water and electricity
should never mix together.

• Do not touch a person who is being electrocuted. Knock him away from the switch or appliance
which is causing the electric shock with an insulator e.g. a wooden stick.

• Do not use a multiway adaptor and plug in many plugs into one socket. The overloading of the
socket may lead to overheating, sparking off a fire.
Electromagnetism
 Electromagnets
Electromagnets show that electricity can make magnetism, but how do they work? When electricity flows
through a wire, it creates an invisible pattern of magnetism all around it.

If you put a compass needle near an electric cable, and switch the electricity on or off, you can see the needle
move because of the magnetism the cable generates. The magnetism is caused by the changing electricity when
you switch the current on or off.
 The power of electricity
Before the invention of electricity, people had to make energy wherever and whenever they needed it. Thus, they
had to make wood or coal fires to heat their homes or cook food. The invention of electricity changed all that. It
meant energy could be made in one place then supplied over long distances to wherever it was needed.

People no longer had to worry about making energy for heating or cooking: all they had to do was plug in and
switch on—and the energy was there as soon as they wanted it.

Another good thing about electricity is that it's like a common "language" that all modern appliances can
"speak." You can run a car using the energy in gasoline, or you can cook food on a barbecue in your garden
using charcoal, though you can't run your car on charcoal or cook food with gasoline.

But electricity is quite different. You can cook with it, run cars on it, heat your home with it, and charge your
cellphone with it. This is the great beauty and the power of electricity: it's energy for everyone, everywhere, and
always.
 What is Resistance?
● The opposition to the flow of an electric
current, producing heat.
● The greater the resistance, the less current gets
through.
● Good conductors have low resistance.
● Measured in ohms.
 What is Voltage?
● The measure of energy given to the charge
flowing in a circuit.
● The greater the voltage, the greater the force or
“pressure” that drives the charge through the
circuit.
 Difference b/t Volts and Amps
● Example – you could say that…
○ Amps measure how much water comes out of a
hose.
○ Volts measure how hard the water comes out of a
hose.
 Ohm’s Law
(11 years and above)

● Resistance = Voltage / Current

● Ohms = Volts / Amps

 Ohm’s Law
(11 years and above)
 Ohm’s Law
(11 years and above)

Solve for V
V
V=IR
I xR
 Ohm’s Law
(11 years and above)

Solve for I
V
I=V/R
I R
 Ohm’s Law
(11 years and above)

Solve for R
V
R=V/I
I R
 Ohm’s Law
(11 years and above)
Ohms Volts Amps
4 100 25
15 150 10
2 30 15
9 45 5
6 48 8
 What is an electromagnet?
● Electromagnet – a magnet made from a current
bearing coil of wire wrapped around an iron or
steel core.
 What is a generator?
● Generator – a machine that changes
mechanical energy to electrical energy
● Usually use moving magnets to create currents
in coils of wire.
 What is a motor?
● Motor – a device that changes electrical energy
to mechanical energy that can do work.
 What is a battery
● A battery provides the needed voltage to keep a current flowing in a
circuit
● There are two types of batteries:
○ Dry Cell: most common (AAA, AA) two electrodes surrounded
by material called electrolytes
○ Wet Cell: (Car battery), Plates of metal of different compounds
in a conducting solutions a wet cell battery is many of these
cells put together
Voltage The force (pressure) that causes
current to flow
- measured in VOLTS (V)

Tank (Battery) Faucet

(Switch)
Pipe (Wiring)

When the faucet (switch) is off, is there any pressure (voltage)?

YES – Pressure (voltage) is pushing against the pipe, tank, and
the faucet.
When the faucet (switch) is on, is there any pressure (voltage)?
YES – Pressure (voltage) pushes flow (current) through the
system.
Voltage in a Circuit

of o
f n

The battery provides voltage that will push

current through the bulb when the switch is on.
 Resistance
All materials have resistance. Conductors have little
resistance.

Tank (Battery)
Insulators provide a lot of resistance. Some electronic
components (resistors) have a specific resistance.

These are often needed to reduce current in order to

protect other components or to adjust the amount of
current that goes to other components.
 Resistance
The opposition of current flow
- measured in Ohms (Ω)
Tank (Battery) Faucet
(Switch)
Pipe (Wiring)

What happens to the flow (current) if a rock

gets lodged in the pipe?
Flow (current) decreases.
 Resistance in a Circuit

of o
f n

Resistors are components that create resistance.

Reducing current causes the bulb to become
more dim.
 Multimeter
An instrument used to measure the properties of an electrical
circuit, including
Voltage Volts
Current Amps
Resistance Ohms
 Combination Circuits
Contain both series and parallel arrangements

What would happen if you removed light 1? light 2?

light 3?

2 3
Electrical Power
Electrical power is directly related to
the amount of current and voltage
within a system.
P  I V
Power is measured in watts
Next Lesson – Stage 2
We Love Science

Week 13 - Cells (Systems)

Week 14 – Solid Liquid Gas
Week 15 - Games
Week 16 – Water & Water Cycle
Week 17 - Light and Shadows (Energy)
Week 18 - Heat and Temperature (Energy)
Week 19 - Characteristics of Environment (Interactions)
Week 20 - Man's Impact on Environment (Interactions)
Week 21 - Games
Week 22 - Adaptations (Interactions)
Week 23 - Food Chains and Food Webs (Interactions)
Week 24 - Games